Kasay’s Late Kickoff to Disaster

John Kasay made a 50-yard field goal for the Carolina Panthers just before halftime, but that’s not what he’ll be best remembered for in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Instead Kasay, who has been with the Panthers for all nine seasons of their existence, will be remembered for what should have been a routine kickoff with 1:13 left in the game that soared out of bounds.

That meant that the Patriots started their last, desperate drive at the New England 40. If Kasay’s kickoff had gone into the end zone, as he and his teammates expected, the Patriots would have had an extra 20 yards of territory to gain and maybe an overtime to play.

Instead, New England was able to advance to the Carolina 23, where Adam Vinatieri nailed a 41-yard field goal with four seconds to play.

“I just caught it a little late,” Kasay said. “I was trying to make a really good kick. I got a little high and a little outside on the ball.”

None of the Panthers blamed Kasay for the one bad kick.

“I expected us to stop them and we’d go to overtime,” quarterback Jake Delhomme said.

“John just didn’t hit it,” Panther Coach John Fox said. “He was trying to drive it deep and hooked it right. We still could have stopped them.”

But Kasay blamed himself.

“It’s my job to kick it into the end zone,” Kasay said. “You just can’t explain those moments.”

*

Two years ago, against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI, St. Louis Ram receiver Ricky Proehl caught a 26-yard touchdown pass with 1:37 left to tie the score.

Then Vinatieri kicked a game-winning field goal for the Patriots.

Sunday, Proehl, now a receiver for the Panthers, caught a 12-yard touchdown pass to tie the score, 29-29, against the Patriots with 1:13 left. Vinatieri then kicked a game-winning field goal for the Patriots.

“It’s like deja vu. A nightmare all over again,” Proehl said. “What can you say? I felt like if we got them to overtime, they were tired, we could get the ball and drive.”

Diane Pucin

*

Patriot safety Rodney Harrison had to watch the end of the game in the X-ray room after sustaining an arm injury in the fourth quarter. The nature of the injury was not available at press time.

“Of course you want to be out there,” he said. “But I was very blessed to be healthy through the whole season.”

He wasn’t sure of the severity of his injury.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I just know my arm hurts real bad. I got some X-rays and they never really told me anything.

“But I’ve got some time to heal. Whenever you win, it doesn’t feel as bad.”

*

This was the second time in Super Bowl history that both quarterbacks threw for more than 300 yards. In Super Bowl XIX, Joe Montana and Dan Marino surpassed 300 yards.

*

New England receiver Deion Branch saved his biggest game for the biggest stage. He caught 10 passes for a career-high 143 yards, setting a franchise record in the process.

“It’s just crazy,” he said. “This is the Super Bowl. This is just my second season, and we put so much work in this year. Things turned out pretty good for us. We’re the Super Bowl champions.”

*

Tom Brady has completed 64% of his passes in Super Bowls, ranking him third behind Troy Aikman’s 70% and Montana’s 68%.

*

Before Carolina’s Muhsin Muhammad scored on an 85-yard touchdown reception with six minutes, 53 seconds remaining, the Patriots had gone 478 minutes, six seconds without trailing -- seven full games.

*

The fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXXVIII was the high-scoring quarter in Super Bowl history with 37 points -- 19 by Carolina, 18 by New England.

-- Sam Farmer

*

DeShaun Foster’s 33-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was among the longest scoring runs in Super Bowl history, yet he only carried the ball once more.

Yet he wasn’t complaining.

“We win together and, as a team, we lose together, but this one is tough,” he said. “This just shows our heart and character.”

About his run, he said, “The offensive line did a great job blocking for me and Steve Smith blocked his man, then I was off to the races.”

Most impressively, he knocked down Harrison in the process, injuring the defensive back’s arm.

-- Bill Plaschke